Balanced K9 Services

From the minute we handed our Lab over to Ryan for training, he put us at ease and went over the entire training process. Ryan kept us updated with progress videos for the whole 3 weeks she spent in training. When we got her back Ryan was patient and calm teaching us lessons on her new commands. We couldn’t have asked for a better trainer for our girl. Thank you Ryan for everything, you really are a dog whisperer.

Update: Our experience working with Ryan has changed enough since our original training 2 years ago that I found it important to return to this review with an update. Ryan’s responsiveness decreased rapidly post-training and it took nearly a month to get one of our dogs scheduled for a follow up session in August 2021. Overtime, communication got worse and worse when I’d reach out every couple months. Now, two years post training, I reached out to Ryan several months ago and he is completely unresponsive. I am not changing my original rating as I am still confident in Ryan’s methods, but I will not longer recommend Balanced K9 Services to friends/family that are looking for a long-term relationship. It’s also worth noting that one of our dogs has not kept up his behavioral improvements despite daily use of the e-collar and training. We saw a change for the worse in his behavior about two months after training and it’s recently gotten very bad. He has kept his off leash skills 100%. Original Review: From our first inquiry call with Balance K9 Services in Spring 2021 all the way through to follow-up communication post-training, Ryan has been phenomenal to work with. When we contacted Ryan about his board-and-train services for our two dogs—1.5-year-old male husky mix (Knox) and 1-year-old female shepherd mix (Annie)—he was very responsive and set up an inquiry call right away. Ryan was patient in listening to my concerns about our two dogs, thorough in explaining his training methods to me, and mindful in spending the time to answer my questions. By the time we completed the inquiry call, I was confident in Ryan and his methods of training. Knox and Annie went to 3 weeks of board-and-train with Balanced K9 Services in June 2021. Knox went primarily for leash skills and behavioral management (barking at people and dogs). Before training, I was unable to walk Knox on a leash because he pulled and lunged uncontrollably. He had, on several occasions, pulled me to the ground and scared people from his barking and lunging. We were unable to have visitors in the house because Knox would bark at them uncontrollably. We worked with several other trainers to try to remedy these issues, without success. Annie went to board and train primarily for recall, but Ryan also worked with her on her confidence and social skills. Before training, Annie did not have recall skills.e. Ryan explained what methods he would use to work through these complications with Knox and Annie, and how he would teach and support us for sustainable success. He was flexible through the whole process and maintained regular communication. When we dropped them off, Ryan spent over an hour with us and the dogs, making sure we were very confident and comfortable with the plan. When we picked up the dogs, we were in complete awe of the changes! The dogs were responsive, calm, and focused. Ryan spent several hours teaching us his methods so we would have sustainable success. After training, we took a cross-country road trip and stayed with friends on 10 acres of land—open fields and forest—for two weeks, where the dogs were able to run off leash daily. They had perfect recall, even around other dogs, rabbits, and deer running off-leash. It was life-changing; it was amazing to watch them run off-leash with confidence that they would return safely to us. While traveling, I was able to control both dogs on leash in big cities, through hotels, and in crowded areas. We no longer stressed about our surroundings and could confidently walk the dogs together. Now back at home in a suburban neighborhood, we are able to walk the dogs multiple times a day, everyday, around other dogs, people, busy streets, foxes, rabbits, and deer, without trouble. Ryan continues to answer our questions and address any concerns we have in a timely and thorough manner. We will definitely bring our dogs back to Ryan for advanced training! I would 100% recommend consulting with Ryan for all of your dog training needs, he is incredibly skilled and cares so much about his canine clients.

He helped so much with my senior dog who was reactive. I now have a pesky puppy in the house who is always in her face and she tolerates him like I never thought she could. She even likes him sometimes, which is a huge win. Ryan was very patient with the pups and me, making me feel comfortable and answering all my questions. He is clearly passionate about what he does and he is very good at it too. Thank you, your help was a game changer.